Farhad Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Greetings to you all, Firstly, I would like to introduce myself : I am french, english isn't my mother tongue, so I am trying to do my best to find people interested in sikhism. I discovered this great religion after studying many others : I began with taoism, islam, then christianity, and many many other things... And to be honest, nothing ever had any deep importance to me, eventhough I studied it seriously. Nevertheless, until I discovered sikhism, ! I would not say my life changed within those few days, but I think I found several answers to important questions : who we are, who is God, what is the goal of a life on earth... To sum up, I am only disappointed by the very few books existing in french about sikhism But as you can see, my profile name is "Farhad" : it suggest loneliness, at least in a spiritual acception. There is no one to discuss with me about sikh philosophy and theology, since most of people in my area are catholic or muslim. This forum seems to me to be a great place to ask a few questions ;pardon me if those are basics, but they all came from my very little and really young knowledge. 1) Is there any condition for an individual to spend eternity in heaven or hell in whole sikh litterature ? I tried to find informations, but they sometimes do not really agree one with another... 2) I know Waheguru can forgive anyone if he repents, but under which conditions ? I suppose the notion of forgiveness maybe contradicts the concept of karma (if at least this word exists in sikhism). Does forgiveness of the King make karmic effects disappear ? 3) What is the exact role of demons in sikhism ? I heard they are individuals existing only by their ego, but do they live forever ? I would suppose they do not, but it is only a supposition. 4) Is it necessary to meet a spiritual master to meditate in sikhism ? This condition exists in many traditions, but I would be glad to repeat the Name of the Lord by myself if this is possible. 5) Do you know in sikh history some cases of people who reached God by this spiritual way ? As Jesus said, "Consider a tree by its fruits" ; I suppose this tradition is efficient, but an inner advice is still important to me. Thank you for answering, sorry again if I commited some mistakes in my understanding of this religion, I am only a student at that time. I am only looking for answer, in no way for hurting people Farhad. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Welcome to forum Farhad ji. Here are answers to best of my knowledge. 1) Is there any condition for an individual to spend eternity in heaven or hell in whole sikh litterature ? I tried to find informations, but they sometimes do not really agree one with another... Sikhi Theology do acknowledge heaven and hell (both in metaphysical realm and also here and now-state of mind based on individual perception) but not enough importance is given to both hell or heaven as sikhism acknowledge them or see as temporary realm that individualstic false indentity (I ego) goes through in one's spiritual development journey... they are not meant to be seen as eternal or eternity. Our eternal goal is realize our true self by grace of Guru- (seen as physical living guru as eternal sri guru granth sahib, estoric layer of guru- divine shabad/divine guru guidance-intuitive divine wisdom within, pure consciouness (satguru) within) Man tu jot saroop hai apna mool painchain (O mind, you are ultimately light/awareness, recognize your source/root.) that is realized via selfless service towards humanity, devotion towards guru (both eternal and external), remeberance-naam simran of One Waheguru, meditation, wisdom-divine knowledge contemplation om Guru's word. 2) I know Waheguru can forgive anyone if he repents, but under which conditions ? I suppose the notion of forgiveness maybe contradicts the concept of karma (if at least this word exists in sikhism). Does forgiveness of the King make karmic effects disappear ? Waheguru forgives everyone and gives redemption to everyone if its forgiveness is genuine and if one surrenders to guru (be it phsyical, divine name, or intuitive guru within) to be saviour. In sikh theology and history there are many glorious examples of forgiveness removed also karamic effects as well. 3) What is the exact role of demons in sikhism ? I heard they are individuals existing only by their ego, but do they live forever ? I would suppose they do not, but it is only a supposition. Not much, they are part of Waheguru's creation just like angels..Yes they do exist in metaphysical world and also in real world- bad attributes are scolded as demonic attributes in gurbani as well) because of their current bad karma ultimately because of individual false self-ego.. no they don't live forever as whenever bad karma runs out they are given another chance of human life. Great emphasis is being put on gift of human life in sukhmani sahib where divine guru give many profound discourses to all- this is your chance to know your real life that you have been countless times reincarnated into many different forms 4) Is it necessary to meet a spiritual master to meditate in sikhism ? This condition exists in many traditions, but I would be glad to repeat the Name of the Lord by myself if this is possible. It depends on state of mind of individual- Answer is both yes and no. Yes, traditionally/historically/Spiritually for Begineers you must take khalsa intiation and divine word from five beloved (spiritual masters) to have a fresh start, like admission to spiritual(saint/sodlier) sikh school prepare yourself- dispcline- by reciting, contemplting on five daily compositions, waking up amritvela(amborsial hours), selfless service meditate/contemplate on divine name(Waheguru/Mool Mantra)/mahavaak (verse term, mantra or couplet within gurbani means - 'direct knowledge about unity between soul and supreme soul-vahiguru'), which eventually draw seeker into various stages/helps connect with intuitve guru within our real self. This gives good foundation, new life, new perception, also gives you fresh start,new perceptive, as intiation itself called amrit- immortal drink symbolic/metaphysical. You may not need to have physical spiritual master, but that happens in rare cases where individual is automatically drawn inwardly by Divine name and intituive guru within. In sikh theolgy, guru is both sargun(with form-physical/divine name-Naam) and nirgun(without form) 5) Do you know in sikh history some cases of people who reached God by this spiritual way ? As Jesus said, "Consider a tree by its fruits" ; I suppose this tradition is efficient, but an inner advice is still important to me. There are many intial ways used as aids for seeker to help reach god. In Gurbani, there are lot of divine discourse, guidance if read intuiatively/clear perception/mind can provided great spirtual insight and revelation sponteounsly and automatically within, this process is called- sehaj patt where seeker reads sri guru granth sahib ji with patience, clear mind with one or two ang panna(page) a day with great reverence/devotion and contemplate on it deeply. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farhad Posted September 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Hi N30 S!NG (do I have to add "ji" ? I guess so ) I would like to thank you for your very nice, clear and deep answer : it is far better than comparing one Google result to another... Anyway, I just noticed you're interested in life after death : so do I, it is even a very important issue in my daily thoughs. But I like sikhism since it gives answers some religions never gave me : I discovered in your answer karma exists, and that's to me a good explanation to many events happening in life (or beyond). Actually, I have some difficulties to imagine God as all loving, all compassionnate, all forgiveness and all kind : I grew up with the idea of heaven and hell as eternal an eternal truth. But both in the Quran and in the Bible, I discovered a God half good and half revengeful... I agree there are differences between islam and christianity regarding life and death, but living in fear is one of the results those religions gave me when I was younger. It is only my personnal case, I know people being muslim or christian and living it perfectly. I know it is different in sikhism, and studying this religion in details is still a good idea. I've got to order a few books about that. I am pretty interested in the cases you quoted in your second answer : could you please quote any kind of example related with removing of karmic consequences ? Dhannvaad ! My best regards, Farhad. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatanga1 Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Good questions Farhad, and Neo, great stuff as well. Enjoyed reading it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farhad Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Well, after reading some books (including Guru Granth Sahib), I realized some things : - My conception of a personnal God seems to be wrongs according to sikhism. Actually, it all depends on my own education. I always found the islamic/christian conception of God as quite... Weird. All loving, all merciful, but able to find enemies and punish them for the whole eternity ? I respect people who believe in that, but I do not agree with those statements. - The question about who achieved the Truth through sikhism has a very clear answer : Guru Nanak and his followers are great examples when we take time to study their lifes and teachings. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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